


Crisana Fake Dating AU

by random_contemplations



Category: SKAM (Spain)
Genre: AU, Croana, F/F, Fake Dating, crisana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-05-15 23:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19305700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/random_contemplations/pseuds/random_contemplations
Summary: Prompt: How about fake dating au? Maybe because Cris wants to get rid of Rubén or something?This got kind of long but the more Crisana the better right? Hope you enjoy.Disclaimer: I really wanted to include something about Joana’s BPD but I’m not educated enough to do it justice so I’ll educate myself and try to incorporate it into another fic!





	1. I'm in if you're in

Cris was sat at a table in the school canteen, surrounded by the girl squad who were having an animated convocation; one Cris was not paying attention to. Instead, the blonde was staring at yet another text from Ruben who hadn’t left her alone since she agreed to go on a date with him. She was busy trying to come up with another excuse as to why she couldn’t make this weekend when Eva snatched the phone from her hand.

 

_“Hey!”_ Cris exclaimed, trying to grab the phone back but Eva was too quick and had already moved out of Cris’ reach.

 

_“You’re on it all the time,"_ Said Eva in answer to Cris' scowl.

 

_“Sorry mother”_ Cris joked _“Please may I have my phone back so that I can tell Ruben to piss off!”_ She said making the whole table laugh.

 

_“Very well Cristina”_ replied Eva, trying to imitate Cris’ mum which sent the table into another fit of laughter.

 

_“Why don’t you just tell him you’re not interested?”_ Asked Amira when the group had settled down.

 

_“I tried that but he just kind of ignored it and he’s actually kind of sweet so I feel bad if I keep telling him. How long until he just takes the hint?”_ Cris huffed, putting her phone away and deciding she’d deal with Ruben later.

 

_"If you don't want him I'll have him,"_ said Viri, _“I mean seriously, have you seen him!? I honestly don’t get why you’re not into him.”_ She finished.

 

_“I mean I know he’s conventionally attractive and he’s a nice guy but... I don’t know, he had the personality of a plank of wood and I just don’t see us being a thing.”_ Replied Cris with a shrug.

 

_“Guys what did you expect, we’re talking about Cris here; Miss Cristina ‘I don't believe in love and falling for someone is so stupid' Soto Peña!”_ Eva joked causing Cris to roll her eyes but laugh along with the others.

 

_“I just don’t like him, but he is so persistent!”_ Cris complained.

 

_“Who do you like then?”_ Asked Nora curiously.

 

_“No one Tia, ‘I don’t believe in love and falling for someone is so stupid’ remember”_ Cris replied imitating Eva.

 

The girls laughed one again and then the convocation shifted but Cris still wasn’t paying attention, she was watching someone who had just entered the canteen and was making their way over.

 

Realising she had probably been staring for too long, Cris quickly averted her gaze and tried to follow what the others were talking about but, as she caught Amira’s eye, her best friend gave Cris a questioning look before motioning to where Cris had been looking. However, before Cris could mouth to Amira that she’d tell her later, the mysterious brunette in question reached the table.

 

_"Hey,"_ she said, talking to Cris without even acknowledging the presence of the other girls. _“I thought we should probably meet up to do the literature project so I came to give you my number."_ The girl continued, handing Cris a slip of paper which presumably contained said number.

 

_“Um, yeah that’s fine. I’ll give you a text tonight and we can sort something for the weekend if you’re free”_ suggested Cris, very aware that the table had gone silent and now all eyes were on her.

 

_“I should be yeah but I’ll check some times, see you around guapa,"_ said the girl before turning on her heal and heading back the same was she had come.

 

Cris slipped the folded note into her back pocket and looked up to see 4 pairs of eyes all looking her way with raised eyebrows and questioning looks.

 

_“Who was that?”_ asked Nora, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

 

_“That’s Joana, she’s new but we’re literature partners for the next assignment so she just wanted to give me her number so we could arrange something, it’s no big deal.”_ Replied Cris with a shrug as she turned her attention back to the muffin in front of her and was about to take a bite when she realised that the table was still in silence and everyone was still looking at her.

 

_“What!? Why are you being so weird?”_ She asked.

 

_“It’s just that we’ve never seen her before, we didn’t know you were friends.”_ Said Viri and the others nodded in agreement.

 

_“We’re not really friends, just literature partners”_ Replied Cris nonchalantly and the girls seemed satisfied because they dropped the matter.

 

* * *

 

Cris’ phone buzzed from the bed and she finished applying her lip gloss before checking to see a text from Joana- _‘Just set off, see you in 15’_. She quickly sent back an ‘ok’, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her bag off the bed before heading out the door, calling bye to her parents on the way out.

 

Her and Joana had agreed to meet at a café in town to plan what they were going to do for the literature project and although Cris was looking forward to hanging out with the mysterious brunette, she really wasn’t looking forward to having to do actual work on a Saturday morning.

 

When she arrived at the little café, she saw Joana sat in a corner and waved to the girl before going up to the front to order a coffee.

 

After a short wait, she sat down in the comfy armchair opposite Joana who already had a note pad out along with the list of books Pedro had given them to choose from. _“I feel like I’m here for an interview!”_ Joked Cris causing Joana to look up at her and smile before extending her hand to Cris.

 

_“My name is Miss Bianchi but you can call me Joana, and that must make you Cristina?”_ Joana asked trying to sound important as she shook Cris’ hand firmly.

 

Cris had to bite her lip to stop herself from bursting out into laughter as she shook Joana’s hand and managed a small _“Yes”_ in response to the question.

 

_“Very well Cristina, I see you are here for the position of literature partner and I hope we can agree on some terms of your employment today.”_ Joana carried on and this time Cris couldn’t help the bubbly laugh that escaped her throat and soon Joana was laughing along with her.

 

_“You’re ruining the image I created of you in my head.”_ Said Cris teasingly when the two had stopped laughing.

 

_“Oh yeah, and what image would that be?”_ Asked Joana wiggling her eyebrows.

 

_“The mysterious brooding new girl who is too tough to joke around because she’s been hurt before so doesn’t let people in,”_ Replied Cris _“but you’re actually just a massive dork!”_ She said, noticing a flicker of unreadable emotion pass across Joana’s face before being replaced by and over-exaggerated pout.

 

_"I am not a dork!"_ Said Joana furrowing her eyebrows and sticking out her bottom lip, she looked exactly like a stroppy 2-year-old but Cris found it endearing.

 

Eventually, the pair chose a book to study and began brainstorming ideas of how to present their work and when they would meet up to do so. They stopped every so often to share ideas and take sips of their drinks but they were soon finished and Cris was surprised to see it had only taken them 45 minutes, if she had been on her own, it would’ve definitely taken much longer.

 

Joana was up at the front ordering them both another drink and some sandwiches when Cris’ phone buzzed and she looked down to see another text from Ruben. Sighing heavily, she and stared at the phone, willing her brain to come up with something to text back. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Joana coming back and jumped when the girl placed a tray down on the table.

 

_“Everything okay?”_ Asked Joana, slightly concerned by Cris’ reaction. She noticed Cris’ phone n her lap and when the younger girl didn’t respond, she spoke again. _“If you need to go that's fine, I don't mind,"_ she said motioning to Cris' phone.

 

_“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just there’s this guy, Ruben, and he wants us to meet up but I’m really not interested but he just won't take the hint."_ Cris said in defeat, she wasn't sure why she was telling Joana this, they weren't exactly friends. But for some reason, Cris just found talking to Joana very easy, almost a natural thing.

 

_“Have you told him you’re not interested?”_ Asked Joana, taking a bite of her sandwich and looking at Cris curiously.

 

Cris sighed again before answering, _“Yeah, but he’s actually super sweet so I feel bad if I keep telling him. I wish he’d just take a hint.”_

 

_“I mean I don’t think he can be that sweet if you’ve explicitly told him you’re not interested and he keeps trying.”_ Said Joana and Cris thought that maybe she had a point.

 

_“So Joana the dork is actually pretty smart too”_ teased Cris trying to lighten the situation a bit. The truth was she knew that if she were dating someone, Ruben would back off immediately but because she hadn’t given him an actual reason why she wasn’t interested, he just kept trying.

 

_"I am a woman of many talents.”_ Replied Joana, throwing a tomato in the air and catching it in her mouth. _“Plus, I’m kind of in a similar situation. I broke up with my ex a couple of weeks ago but he won’t stop messaging me, I keep ignoring him but he needs to know that we’re not getting back together,”_ the older girl continued after eating the tomato.

 

_“I guarantee that if we were dating, they’d both back off.”_ Replied Cris, the annoyance in her voice evident. She took a bite of her sandwich and then looked back up at Joana who was looking at her intently, her head tilted slightly.

 

Cris frowned back at the brunette who just laughed at her, leaning back into the armchair. _“What!”_ Demanded Cris, confused and slightly annoyed that Joana was laughing at her for no apparent reason.

 

_“You said- if we were dating then they'd back off,"_ Joana said, an unreadable expression on her face as she continued to watch Cris.

 

It took the blonde a few seconds to realise how that sounded but once she understood what Joana was implying, her face flushed bright red and she dropped her face into her hands as she heard Joana laugh once again.

 

_“That’s not what I meant,”_ Cris mumbled from between her fingers, still too embarrassed to show her face.

 

_"You know, it's not every day I get asked out but someone so pretty,"_ replied Joana, apparently oblivious to how embarrassed Cris was.  

 

_“I hate you”_ was Cris’ only reply as she sheepishly removed her hands from her face.

 

_“Now that’s no way to talk to your girlfriend is it,”_

 

Cris could tell that she was never going to live this down so she just shook her head and tried to enjoy her lunch despite the fact that she could feel Joana’s eyes boring holes into her skull.

 

* * *

 

Sunday was a drag and soon it was Monday morning and Cris had almost forgotten what had happened on Saturday, almost. That was until she saw Joana stood at the front of the school and the embarrassing memories came flooding back, sending her cheeks a deep shade of red again. Of course, this was precisely the moment Joana decided to look up from her phone and smirked when she made eye contact with Cris.

 

Before Cris could even register the movement, Joana was making her way over, a smirk still plastered on her face.

 

_"Hey babe,"_ she said nonchalantly as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

 

Cris sighed and shook her head, looking around for one of her friends in hopes that they’d save her, but to no avail.

 

_“What do you want?”_ Asked Cris when she realised she wasn’t going to be saved anytime soon.

 

_"I was just saying good morning, you seem a little tense and for some reason, your cheeks are super red."_ Joana teased causing Cris’ cheeks to darken even more.

 

_"I wonder why that could be!"_ Cris replied deciding her best ploy would be to play along with Joana’s teasing. _“Could it be because a certain brunette made me remember what happened on Saturday when I tried very hard to block it from my memory?”_

 

_“Where is she? I’ll have to have a few words with her and about what she was doing with my girlfriend on Saturday!”_ Joana responded, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

 

_“Fuck! Could you be any more ridiculous if you tried?”_ Asked Cris, laughing out loud which made Joana grin widely.

 

_"Your friends are coming, I'll see you in literature guapa,"_ Joana said, looking over Cris' shoulder before kissing her quickly on the cheek and walking away.

 

Turning around to face her friends, who definitely notice the interaction between her and Joana as well as the colour of Cris’ cheeks, Cris prepared herself for an onslaught of questions but the only thing Eva said was _“Just literature partners my ass!”_ Followed by a chorus of nods and hums of agreement.

 

Cris was glad her friends weren’t making a big deal about it because, as she walked to Pedro’s class, she thought she probably wasn’t quite ready to relive Saturday in any detail just yet. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of the brunette who was currently occupying her thoughts. As she was about to walk up to Joana, Cris also noticed a tall guy leaning against the wall opposite, seemingly weighing up whether or not to go up to Joana too.

 

He looked oddly familiar and Cris quickly realised her was Eloy, Joana’s ex. The one who wouldn't leave her alone if Cris' memory served her well.

 

Before she could really register what she was doing, Cris’ feet her carried her towards the older girl and when she caught up with her, she slipped her hand into Joana’s cold one, lacing their fingers together.

 

_“What the- Cris what are you doing?”_ Asked Joana, surprised by the unexpected affection.

 

In truth, Cris wasn’t really sure what she was doing either but newfound confidence bubbled from within as she decided teasing would be the best way to play whatever it was off.

 

_“Holding my girlfriend’s hand, is that illegal now?”_ Asked Cris nonchalantly, liking the was Joana’s eyes kept flicking between her own and their hands as if still trying to process what was happening.

 

The brunette opened and closed her mouth a few times before shaking her head in defeat and laughing a bright laugh that drew a few prying eyes, not that Cris really cared that much.

 

_“And you say that I’m the dork! People are going to think we’re actually dating, you do realise that"_ Joana stated rather than asked as the pair started to walk again, not wanting to be late to class.

 

_“You mean we’re not dating?”_ Countered Cris teasingly, looking over her shoulder to see Eloy staring at them with a mixture of confusion and defeat written across his face. Even more confident, Cris turned back around and carried on _, “Weren’t you the one that was shamelessly flirting with me earlier?”_

 

This time it was Joana’s turn to blush as she looked down at there hands again. _“I’m not one for PDA”_ was all she said, looking at the ground rather than at Cris.

 

_"Fair enough"_ replied Cris, dropping Joana’s hand. She almost missed the cool touch but was too busy with the fact that she had just managed to make Joana nervous to actually acknowledge the feeling.

 

They had reached the class anyway and made their way to their seats in silence which continued whilst Pedro came in and he had begun to explain the task for today before Cris finally broke it.

 

_“Are you okay? I didn’t overstep did I?”_ She asked, slightly concerned that she had taken things too far for Joana’s liking.

 

_"What? Oh no, you didn't, don't worry. I just - wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”_ Replied Joana after taking maybe a little too long to think about her answer which hadn’t eased Cris’ nerves in the slightest.

 

Cris didn’t press the matter any further and went back to trying to listen to Pedro in between sneaking glances at Joana.

 

_“You’re not subtle by the way!”_

 

 This time it was Joana’s turn to break the silence once Pedro had let the class get started on the work. _“I can feel when you’re looking at me, and you do it a lot.”_ She laughed lightly but didn’t look at Cris, opting to focus on the sketch she was doing instead.

 

_“My girlfriend’s just very pretty, can you blame me?”_ Said Cris, trying to sound sarcastic but the statement ultimately came out as almost a confession. Her soft tone caused Joana to actually make eye contact with her and Cris realised just how pretty Joana was.

 

_“It worked by the way.”_ She said, snapping out of her daze and trying to ease so of the tension.

 

_“What did?”_ Asked Joana, now determined to keep looking a Cris even when the blonde wasn’t looking at her.

 

_"Well I'm pretty sure my little stunt in the corridor made it look like we're actually dating (like you said) and Eloy looked pretty defeated so maybe he'll back off,"_ replied Cris, twirling a pen in her hand and smiling at Joana.

 

_“Seriously?”_ Pressed Joana, _“Maybe we should make this little thing official then!”_ She said, her signature smirk returning to her face as she got a fresh piece of paper from her book and begun to scribble something down.

 

_“What little thing?”_ Cris said, but her question was answered when Joana slid the piece of paper across the table to her.

 

At the top of the page in big, messy lettering read ‘Fake Dating Contract’ and below it, in slightly smaller but equally messy lettering, there was a subheading which read ‘Terms of Agreement:'.

 

It didn’t take Cris long to realise what Joana was getting at but before she could say something in return, Joana simply said _“I’m in if you’re in”_ before turning back to her work, just as Pedro came up behind them to make sure they were working.


	2. Okay fine, let's do this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: How about fake dating au? Maybe because Cris wants to get rid of Rubén or something?

Pedro had hovered around Cris and Joana’s table for the last 15 minutes of the lesson so neither had a chance to talk further, not that it seemed to bother Joana half as much as it bothered Cris. She desperately wanted to talk to the brunette and decided that she would have to grab Joana after the lesson.

 

Her plan was distinguished though as Pedro called her up to the front just as the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson and she cast a look over her shoulder as she made her way to his desk to see Joana packing her things up, making no effort the wait and talk to Cris.

 

After a quick word from Pedro about paying attention in class, Cris hurriedly stuffed her things into her back and ran after Joana. Her intuition seemed to guide her and as she turned the next corner, she spotted the brunette leaning against the wall and looking at her phone. Cris was glad that the corridors were starting to empty as people made their way outside or to the canteen.

 

She quickly checked the stairwell to make sure no one was there before walking over to Joana, who was still distracted by her phone, and pulling her by the arm into the empty space.

 

Joana opened her mouth to speak once she realised what was happening but Cris quickly silenced her by lifting her hand. _"It's my turn to speak,"_ she said, lowering her hand when Joana nodded and sat down on the bottom step.

 

 _“What the hell was that!? You can’t just slide me this, not say anything and then proceed to avoid me!”_ Cris said, brandishing the ‘contract’ menacingly. She took a deep breath and looked as if she was about to continue her rant but instead she just sighed and dropped down onto the step next to Joana.

 

 _“Can I speak now?”_ Asked Joana sheepishly which caused Cris to laugh slightly and nod her head. _“Okay, so in my defence, this was sort of your idea, I just put it down on paper.”_ She said carefully trying to gage Cris’ reaction.

 

 _“You know that’s not what I meant when I said it,”_ said Cris quietly.

 

 _“Maybe so but it’s actually a really good idea, like the majority of your ideas. And, as you said, it actually worked so maybe if we keep this up for a month the guys will back off and then we’ll have one less problem on our hands.”_ Joana finished, checking the time on her phone.

 

Cris didn’t make any move to speak so Joana got up from the step, _“At least think about it and talk to your friends, see what they think. We’re meeting up tomorrow anyway for the project so we can talk more about it then if you want”_ she said. Cris looked up and watched as Joana smiled at her before leaving her alone on the step.

* * *

 

 

Cris didn’t get to speak to her friends till the end of the day which was both a blessing and a curse rolled into one. On the one hand, it gave her time to actually try and contemplate Joana’s proposal so she could sort her own feelings out before asking her friends. However, on the other hand, she really just needed to clear her head and get everything out to someone; get a different angle on the matter.

 

The final bell rang and Cris realised she had paid zero attention to the lesson but didn't really care as she grabbed her things and made her way to the front of the school to wait for the rest of the girls.

 

 _“Where were you earlier tia?”_ Asked Amira when everyone was together once again.

 

Cris sighed, she had known this question was coming and that she really needed to talk to the girls but she had never really been great with words or expressing her feelings verbally. _"I was with Joana, I actually need to talk to you guys but not here; could we go somewhere less open?”_ She asked.

 

The girls shared a look before Eva spoke up, _“My mum’s not back till late so we could go to mine.”_ She suggested and everyone nodded in agreement before they were on their way.

 

Cris was very grateful that no one pressed the matter on the way back even though she noticed the glances Amira kept giving her, perhaps trying to read what Cris was thinking.

 

They finally arrived at Eva’s and dropped their bags in the living room before heading up to Eva’s room, everyone bar Cris piling themselves onto the bed.

 

 _“Sooooooo,”_ pressed Eva once everyone was comfy, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively which made Cris laugh slightly, putting the others at ease.

 

Instead of trying to explain herself, Cris unfolded the ‘contract’ from her back pocket and threw it onto the bed, pulling the chair she was sat on closer to the others.

 

Nora was the first to grab it as Eva read it over her shoulder. _"What the fuck!"_ Exclaimed Eva and Cris hid behind a pillow as the paper was passed to Amira and Viri at the other end of the bed.

 

 _“Cris!”_ Was Amira’s reaction and Cris slowly lowered the pillow from her face to see four very confused faces gaping at her expectantly which just made her laugh, only stopping when they were all begging for an explanation.

 

It took her a whole 20 minutes to catch the girls up on everything that had been happening since the first time they had met Joana, mostly because she kept getting interrupted but Eva shouting ‘What the fuck’ or Viri asking questions. But, she eventually finished and everyone sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to grasp the whole situation.

 

 _“I knew you weren’t just literature partners!”_ Said Eva, the first to speak up again, slightly proud of herself as the whole room burst into laughter.

 

Cris was glad that things weren’t awkward and for that she loved her friends, she had come out to them at the beginning of the year but having only hooked up with guys at parties, they hadn’t talked much about her bisexuality since.

 

 _“Are you going to do it?”_ Asked Viri and Amira elbowed her slightly for being so blunt. Cris smiled at Amira to let her know that it was fine before answering.

 

 _"I think so yeah, I just wanted to get your guys' opinions on it before I agreed to anything."_ She said, looking at the four in front of her and silently asking what they thought.

 

 _"Fine, I'll go first!"_ Joked Eva, leaning across Nora and coughing into her hand. _“Well Cristina, I think it’s a very good idea”_ she started, trying to imitate Cris’ mum once again and shushing the girls when they started to laugh. _“Ruben and Eloy will back off and you get a hot girl to make out with so I think it’s a win-win scenario!”_ When she finished, they all burst into laughter and Cris’ cheeks flushed slightly.

 

 _“I think it’s a good idea too, I wouldn’t have put like Eva did but she got the general gist of what I would’ve said.”_ Answered Nora when they had settled and Cris grinned back before turning to look at Amira and Viri.

_"Aren't you worried about what people will say?"_ Asked Viri and it was not the kind of question that Cris was expecting but before she could open her mouth to respond, Nora was speaking up.

 

 _“Jesus Viri, if she wasn't thinking it before, she is now. You can't be so forward!"_ She said and Eva and Amira nodded in agreement.

 

 _“Sorry, I was just curious”_ Replied Viri, looking genuinely sorry.

 

 _“It’s fine, just wasn’t expecting that type of question that’s all. To be honest, if it’s not you guys or my family, I don’t really care what people have to say. It might get annoying but I don’t care about their opinion of me.”_ Replied Cris.

 

 _“I guess it’s my turn.”_ Said Amira once Cris was done. _“Obviously it’s your decision but as long as you’re happy with it then so am I. Do I think it’s a little over the top just to get a couple of guys to leave you alone? Yes. But as long as you don’t get hurt or catch any feelings then it’ll be fine.”_

 

Cris decided to ignore the look Amira gave her when she mentioned catching feelings and opted instead to pile on top of the others and pull them in for a group hug. _“What would I do without you guys?”_ She asked.

 

 _“You would die!”_ Responded Eva, so seriously that they all fell apart in fits of laughter.

* * *

 

 

For the rest of the evening, the girl squad decided to put on a film and order pizza, no awkward tension in the air, much to Cris’ relief.

 

She didn’t have any classes with Joana the next day and didn’t see her in the cafeteria so was starting to worry the brunette wasn’t even at school when she saw her waiting at the front at the end of the day, just as they had agreed.

 

When Eva saw Joana, she nudged Cris and wiggled her eyebrows before whispering _“Have fun with your girlfriend”_ in her ear and jogging down the steps to Lukas at the bottom.

 

Cris rolled her eyes and made her way over to Joana who was smirking at her _“Don’t”_ was all Cris said as she too made her way down the steps, Joana close behind.

 

 _"Hello to you too,"_ Said Joana when she caught up, followed by, _"and you don't even know what I was going to say!"_

 _"Your smirk was enough,"_ said Cris which made Joana chuckle.

 

The walk back to Cris’ house was short but somehow the pair managed to talk about anything and everything, only pausing when they actually reached Cris’ house.

 

 _“You brought the DVD right?”_ Asked Cris when they reached her bedroom after making, and burning, some popcorn to eat during the film.

 

 _“Obviously, I’m not as forgetful as you!”_ Replied Joana, kicking her shoes off and joining Cris on the bed.

 

The blonde rolled her eyes and took the film from Joana’s hand, setting up her laptop and inserting the disk. The whole time, very aware that Joana was just unashamedly staring at the back of her head. She turned around to let Joana know she was aware of her antics but it did not perturb the brunette who stared even harder if that was possible.

 

 _“Stop staring!”_ Said Cris finally, fully aware that the room was now thick with tension.

 

 _“Sorry”_ was all Joana said as they both sat back against the wall, intending to start watching the film but Cris didn't press play. _"You can't be hypocritical though,"_ said Joana and Cris quickly broke the eye contact, staring at a spot on the bedding.

 

 _“I think we should do it.”_ Cris blurted out before she could really process how the words sounded.

 

Joana looked briefly taken aback by the outburst before her signature smirk graced her lips again. _"Wow! Take me on a date first!”_ She joked, laughing loudly as Cris groaned, her face already a deep shade of burgundy. _“First you ask me out and then you suggest that we do it, didn’t know you were so forward Cris”_ She continued much to Cris’ dismay.

 

 _“We have already established that I am pretty shit at verbalising what I want to say, you probably shouldn’t be so surprised_.” Replied Cris defeatedly.

 

 _“Maybe I should give you a second chance to try again.”_ Said Joana, her tone much softer this time, so much so that Cris looked up at her in surprise.

 

 _“Okay, what I meant to say was, I think we should do the whole ‘fake dating’ thing. It’ll get the boys off our backs and my friends seem to think it’s a good idea, even Nora. So yeah, that’s obviously what I meant to say.”_ Finished Cris, glad she managed to get through a whole three sentences without messing her words up.

 

 _“That was better,”_ Teased Joana but she still wore a soft expression and her words weren’t as cutting as before.

 

 _“I still have the contract, we should probably actually make it right?”_ Said Cris as she grabbed the paper from her desk.

 

Joana just nodded and grabbed a pen then turned to face Cris who was looking at her expectantly. _“I’ve never done this before, I don’t know why you expect me to know what we’re doing,"_ She said when Cris handed her the contract.

 

 _“Well I don’t know either, I’ve watched ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ and that’s where my knowledge ends! Plus this was kind of your plan so I thought you'd be a bit better at executing it."_ Said Cris and Joana rolled her eyes playfully but took the paper from Cris.

 

 _"Okay fine, let's do this."_ Said Joana after taking a minute to think things through. _"Kissing?"_

_“What!?”_ Asked Cris in surprise but Joana gave her a pointed look and she shook head before answering _“No.”_

 

_“Hand holding?”_

_“Yes”_

_“Social media?”_

_“At least one Instagram story a week”_

_“Public appearances?”_

_“We’re not celebrities!”_

_“That’s not an answer”_

_“Okay, well if there’s a party we have to go together”_

_“And finally, how long will this thing last?”_ Asked Joana, looking up at Cris.

 

 _“A month? I mean that seems like a decent amount of time. It’s believable and long enough for the boys to get the gist and piss off.”_ Replied Cris, smiling at how easy things had actually been.

 

 _"Okay, then I think we're sorted."_ Said Joana, _"We just have to both sign it... if you dare."_ She said, smirking at Cris who laughed and snatched the paper, scribbling her name before handing it back.

 

 _“Someone’s a little eager”_ Joked Joana before she too signed her own name and folded the contract, returning it to Cris’ desk.

 

 _"You're such an arse,"_ Cris said but her grin betrayed her and Joana laughed lightly, a sound that Cris thought she could get used to. She quickly looked away and pressed play on the laptop, leaning back as the title card took over the screen- ‘Las Amistades Peligrosas’.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the love on the last chapter, it really motivated me to write more and get this chapter to you as soon as possible!
> 
> As always if you want to send me a prompt, drop a comment or message me on my Tumblr @random-contemplations
> 
> Not sure when the next chapter will be up because I go away for two weeks and will only have my laptop at the weekends but I’ll do me best!


	3. Chapter 3- Just go with the flow

Cris didn't have any lessons with Joana till Friday so the past couple of days had been relatively uneventful. The pair had arranged to meet up at the entrance of school both before and after the school day; this way, in the morning Joana could walk Cris to her lessons and after school, they could say their goodbyes before going their separate ways.

 

When Friday came around, Joana was there waiting for Cris at the bottom of the step as usual and Cris said a quick goodbye to her friends before jogging over to her ‘girlfriend'. _"Hey,"_ she said when she reached the brunette.

 

_"Hey"_ replied Joana, smiling at Cris. _"You ready to go in?"_

 

Cris nodded in response and they set off towards Pedro's class.

 

They had barely made it past the front door though when Joana stopped and Cris almost walked straight into the back of her.

 

_"Everything okay?"_ Cris asked, slightly concerned by Joana's behaviour.

 

The brunette turned to look at Cris and after quickly scanning the room, she lent in. Not being prepared to have Joana be so close, Cris took a step back which made Joana laugh.

 

_"I'm not going to kiss you!"_ She laughed as Cris' cheeks heated up _. "I was going to ask if I could hold your hand,"_ Joana said, glancing down at Cris' hands before back up to her face.

 

Cris shook her head and rolled her eyes, grabbing Joana's hand and continuing their walking. _"I think we need to work on your smoothness if you're going to be my girlfriend"_ joked Cris, making sure to keep her voice down at the last part.

 

_"What? That was super smooth!"_ Joana asked feigning offence and, just like that, any awkward energy disbursed.

 

As they neared the classroom, Cris stopped the pair, leaning against the wall and tugging Joana's hand. Joana looked slightly confused but before she could form the question, Cris was answering if for her. _"Are you sure you're okay with this?"_ She asked, lifting their entwined hands. _"I know you said you weren't the PDA type so we don't have to if you don't want to."_

 

 

Joana smiled at Cris softly and nodded, _"Yeah, it's fine. Would I have asked you if I wasn't okay with it?"_ She assured.

 

_"Yeah that's true, just checking"_ replied Cris, smiling too. Suddenly, something in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she quickly checked that it was who she thought it was.

 

_"What is it?"_ Asked Joana, noticing that Cris was distracted.

 

_"Eloy"_ Cris replied, _"and he doesn't look happy!"_ She said, grinning at Joana. She noticed a glint of mischief in the brunette's eye but before she could ask what Joana was she was up to, she was moving in once again.

 

_"Not that it should take much acting considering I'm hilarious but pretend I've said something funny,"_ Joana said cockily.

 

Joana moved away slightly but they were still much closer than usual and Cris scoffed, raising her eyebrow before complying with Joana's wishes. She laughed louder than usual and then quickly glanced at Eloy who was scowling more now, making Cris smirk.

 

The next thing Joana did completely caught Cris off guard and suddenly she was completely out of control of the situation. The brunette rested her free hand on Cris' neck and whispered _"One more time for good measure!"_

Cris complied but it was like her body was on autopilot as she kept her eyes locked with Joana's. Her body felt like it was on fire but she couldn't pull away.

 

_"Is he still there?"_ Joana's voice pulled Cris from her trance.

 

She swallowed hard and tried to regain her composure before looking over Joana's shoulder to the spot Eloy had been stood a few minutes ago _. "No, he's gone"_ she managed to choke out as Joana laughed and dropped both hands to her sides. Cris took a few deep breaths, able to breathe again, and shoved the nagging feeling to the back of her brain.

 

The warning bell sounded and Joana grabbed Cris' clammy hand once again, leading her into the classroom and only dropping it when they reached their seats.

 

Cris was relatively quiet for the rest of the lesson and if Joana noticed, she didn't bring it up. Trying to forget what had happened outside, Cris decided to chalk it up to her being surprised and turned to Joana, much calmer and with new confidence.

 

" _There's a party tomorrow night at one of Hugo's friends' house, we should go if you're not busy."_ She said.

_"Yeah sure, I'll be at yours anyway for the project so I'll just bring a change of clothes,"_ Joana replied with a smile and Cris breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of any awkward tension.

 

They chatted for the rest of the lesson and when they packed their things away, Cris kissed Joana on the cheek and strolled off to her next class calling out _"see you later guapa"_ over her shoulder before heading down the corridor; if Joana wasn't going to make things easy for Cris, she wouldn't make them easy for Joana.

 

* * *

 

 

Sunday evening rolled around and Cris was just adding the final touches to her makeup when Joana exited the bathroom and slipped back into Cris’ room. She was wearing her usual layered get-up but with more makeup than usual and her signature denim jacket had been swapped for a sleek leather one.

 

Cris had to catch herself before she stared too long and focused on adding the finishing touches to her eyeliner.

 

_“You ready to go?”_ Cris asked when she was done, turning around to look at Joana who was seated on Cris’ bed.

 

_“Yep!”_ Replied Joana, gathering her things into her bag and slipping it over her shoulder, _"Let's go."_

 

The journey was only about ten minutes on the metro and convocation flowed easily between the two girls the entire time which was something Cris was grateful for. Talking to Joana was easy for her and the pair bounced off of each other with ease allowing for full-length convocations or endless teasing, depending on the mood.

 

A heavy base flowed through Cris' body when they finally arrived at the party. The pair were stood at the front of the house preparing themselves for what was inside. As for Cris, she was in her element; good music, good company and plenty of booze was something Cris considered a perfect night but tonight felt different. Tonight there wasn’t just good company, there was Joana. Of course, the brunette was great company but Cris had a habit of being pretty impulsive when she was drunk and she didn’t want to ruin anything.

 

The blonde tried to shake her nerves and instead focused on Joana’s side profile. There was no denying that her mysterious ‘girlfriend’ was beautiful but right now the brunette was biting at her nails and shuffling from one foot to the other, eyes fixed on the front door. She was visibly nervous and Cris did the only thing she could think of.

 

Careful Cris took Joana’s hands away from her mouth and held them in her own, stepping in front of the door so Joana had to look directly at her instead. _"You'll be fine,"_ she said smiling at Joana earnestly and gently squeezing her hands.

 

_“I know it’s just there’s a lot of people in there and we have to pretend to-"_ Cris could see that Joana was beginning to overthink things so she quickly cut her off.

 

_“-Just go with the flow.”_ She blurted out, stopping Joana in her tracks. _“Just focus on the bass and try to let everything else go, I’m right here and we’re going to go in there and just have a good time. Don’t worry about anything else.”_ She finished, keeping hold of one of Joana’s hands as she turned and headed for the door.

 

_"Thanks"_ Joana whispered as they waited for the door to open and all Cris could do was smile reassuringly before the door was swung wide open and a wall of noise enveloped them both.

 

Cris quickly managed to find her friends amongst the chaos and guided Joana over to them with a hand on the small of her back.

 

_“TIAAAAAAA!”_ Eva shouted once they were in view making Cris and Joana laugh before they were both pulled into a tight hug. Nora was the next to greet them, kissing each girl on the cheek and pointing out Viri who was chatting to Hugo not too far away.

 

_“I’m going to go say hi to them and try to find some drinks, do you want anything?”_ Cris asked, leaning in close to Joana so she could be heard above the noise.

 

_“Surprise me!”_ Replied Joana, seeming much more at ease now they were actually in the midst of the thing and Cris nodded before giving Joana a quick kiss on the cheek and heading back out into the crowd.

 

Cris could already tell as she neared Viri and Hugo that her usually innocent friend was already very drunk. Her small frame was swaying to the music slightly except completely out of time and the closer Cris got the more it became clear that Viri’s swaying was due to her alcohol consumption rather than the music.

 

Hugo looked around searchingly and seemed relieved when he caught Cris’ gaze. Viri seemed to notice that Hugo was preoccupied because she whipped her head around and leapt into Cris' arms who was just about close enough to catch her drunk friend.

 

_“Crissssss!”_ Viri squealed into Cris' shoulder. _"We were just talking about you!"_ She shouted, pulling away to motion over at Hugo.

 

Cris laughed and steadied her friend against the wall before checking if Hugo was okay and turning back to Viri. _"All good things I hope,"_ she said.

 

“ _I was just telling Hugo that he wouldn’t be getting any drunken hook-ups tonight because you're got a girlfriend!"_ Shouted Viri, slurring her words slightly and then laughing when she noticed that both Hugo and Cris were blushing furiously.

 

Cris shook her head, _“I’m sorry about her, I don’t know how she’s already had so much to drink but maybe take everything she says with a pinch of salt.”_ She said to Hugo who was looking sheepishly at the floor.

 

_“Oh don’t worry, I have. She’s just been very blunt which has been interesting.”_ He replied chuckling slightly and Cris didn’t even want to think about what Viri had been saying to the poor boy. _“Just for the record, how accurate was she about you having a girlfriend?”_ He asked after a brief paused.

 

Cris gulped and tried to remember what she had told Joana just before they walked in. _"Oh um, that was pretty accurate. I’m not sure what she told you but yeah me and Joana are together.”_ She managed to get out.

 

_"Excuse me ‘she' is right here and for the record, I didn't tell him it was Joana, you just did”_ Viri chimed in from beside Cris’ left shoulder. And Cris just sighed, surprisingly unbothered by the new information.

 

_"Well, okay that's cool I guess... congrats,"_ Hugo said, unable to mask his awkwardness that was now setting Cris slightly on edge.

 

_"Thanks, I'm actually on my way to grab us some drinks, would you mind taking Viri over to Nora, I think she's probably drunk enough and Nora should be able to keep her in check,"_ Cris said and Hugo nodded in response before leading Viri gently away.

 

Taking a second to take a deep breath before she headed for the drinks table, Cris realised that mentioning Joana had been a lot easier than expected which was a pleasant surprise that urged her to find some drinks and get back to her friends.

 

When she finally made it back to their original spot, Viri and Eva were trying (and failing) to dance to the current song as Joana and Nora looked on in despair; Hugo was nowhere to be seen.

 

_“Did anyone order a stronger-than-usual-so-we-can-catch-up Vodka and Coke?”_ Cris asked, handing one of the cups in her hand to Joana with a smirk.

 

_"Actually, I ordered a surprise but I guess this will do,”_ Replied Joana, smirking right back at Cris and not so subtly giving her a once over.

 

Cris was liking this new middle ground they had found, somewhere on the line between flirting and friendship. Feeling bolder than usual, maybe due to the knowledge that alcohol was now coursing through her, Cris’ smirk grew as she turned to Nora.   _“Can I steal my girl from you for a while?”_ She asked, not really listening for an answer before she took hold of Joana’s elbow and led her into the tangle of dancing teenagers.

 

_“So, I‘m your girl now am I?”_ Joana asked teasingly when they reached a pocket of empty dance floor.

 

_“I mean that tends to be the case when you’re someone’s girlfriend”_ Replied Cris, grinning widely and swaying her hips to the music.

 

The girls danced together for another few songs till Cris decided she needed a refill, this time dragging Joana with her.

 

_“What would you like this time?”_ She asked when they reached the table littered with various bottles and cans.

 

_“How about I surprise you this time”_ Joana stated rather than asked, leaving Cris’ side to move to the opposite side of the table. _"Can I interest you in a Bianchi special ma'am?"_ She asked, leaning across the table slightly and taking the empty cup from Cris' hand, lingering a little longer than she needed too which didn't go unnoticed by Cris but she was too busy trying to keep a straight face to care.

 

_“Sure”_ replied the blonde, her cheeks a fiery red that she didn’t think was completely down to the alcohol and perhaps due to the attractive brunette pretending to serve her over a bar. She looked on as Joana began mixing various liquids and making Cris turn around whilst she added the ‘secret ingredient'.

 

_"Okay you can turn around now,"_ said Joana once she had finished and Cris turned to see the previously clear drink had now turned orange.

 

_“Wow, I wonder what the secret ingredient was!”_ Joked Cris as Joana tried to subtly discard an empty orange juice carton.

 

_“If you come closer, I’ll tell you”_ Replied Joana, wiggling her eyebrows which made Cris burst out laughing.

 

_“Idiota”_ she joked, stealing her cup back from Joana and taking a sip of the mysterious drink. She was pleasantly surprised by its sweetness and took a large gulp.

 

_"Easy there,"_ Joana said having made her way back around to Cris, _"It might not taste like it but too much of this and you'll wake up in a random person's bath with your hair in French braids.”_ Said the brunette, letting her free hand find the small of Cris’ back, sending a shiver up the blonde’s spine.

 

_“That sounds like an oddly specific story.”_ Laughed Cris, letting herself be guided back into the middle of the floor by Joana.

 

When they reached their spot again, Cris took another gulp of her drink as Joana took a sip of hers. Neither said anything but even with the alcohol, they should tell that something had shifted... or maybe that was because of the alcohol. Either way, Cris was very aware of the fact that Joana’s hand had slipped from her back onto her hip, holding her close. A part of her was almost glad for the contact because right now her knees had gone to jelly and she felt as though they would fall from under her at any moment.

 

 

She took a deep breath and placed her hand over Joana’s, closing her eyes briefly to try and steady her spinning head.

 

_“That drink getting to you already?”_ Teased Joana, gripping Cris a bit tighter just in case.

 

_“I think you might be effecting my head in more than one way"_ Cris whispered accidentally. She internally cursed when she felt Joana’s hand immediately leave her hip, Cris might be drunk but she didn't want to make anything weird between her and Joana. She settled on scrunching her eyes up tightly before opening them slowly.

 

Except when she finally looked up she didn’t see a panicked or even disgusted expression on Joana’s face like she had expected. Instead, the brunette was staring straight over Cris’ head, her jaw clenched and expression unreadable.

 

Cris whirled around to see the person who had just ruined her moment; Ruben. Of course, it was a stupid boy that would interrupt them, weren’t they the whole reason a moment was happening in the first place? Cris decided not to over analyse this at the moment and instead took in the sight of a very sheepish Ruben stood in front of them.

 

_“Everything okay?”_ Cris asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

 

_"Um, well... I just wanted to say sorry if you felt like I was overbearing or putting pressure on you to go on a date with me. I didn't know you were... You know"_ he finished, motioning awkwardly between the two girls. When neither of them responded, he rambled on. _“So yeah I just wanted to say sorry and to congratulate you I guess.”_

 

_“It’s fine Ruben, and thank you I guess,”_ Replied Cris, just as awkward as the boy in front of her who nodded and turned away, disappearing into the crowd.

 

Cris took another deep breath before turning back round to Joana who had just knocked back the rest of her drink.

 

_“I think I should get going, my mum wants me home before 12,"_ Said the brunette, looking at Cris but not meeting her gaze.

 

_“Okay yeah, I’ll walk you home”_ Replied Cris, choosing to ignore the fact that they still had plenty of time to get back to Joana’s before 12.

 

_"You don't have to, I'll be fine."_ Joana tried to argue but only half-heartedly.

 

_“It wasn’t an optional offer”_ Cris replied, enjoying the warmth in her chest when she made Joana smile slightly.

* * *

 

 

After managing to locate all her friends to tell them she was leaving early and successfully ignoring the comments made by Viri, her and Joana were finally back on the metro. This time the short journey felt like an eternity as the brunette sat opposite Cris simply stared out of the window the whole way.

 

Very little was spoken on their way to Joana’s house and when they reached her front door she quickly thanked Cris, kissing her on the cheek before slipping into the dark house.

 

Cris sighed and trudged around the corner till the house was out of sight before she sighed deeply and slumped to the pavement, lighting her cigarette and leaning her head back in defeat; Monday was going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got the chapter finished!! 
> 
> Sorry this one took so long but I hope the fact that it's a longer chapter will make up for that. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long but it all depends on how my mental health is doing tbh. I'm going away again but I'll have my laptop this time so hopefully that won't be an issue.
> 
> For updates or to send me a prompt, follow my Tumblr @random-contemplations
> 
> Think that's everything, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated but I just hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4- Then why won't you look at me?

It was in Cris' nature to worry, she might not like to admit it but she cared a lot. Whether it was for specific people or about what those people thought; Cris cared. And it was down to her caring nature that her weekend turned out the way it did.

 

She spent most of her time going over the events of Friday to try ad work out f she had done anything to warrant the radio silence she had received from Joana since she left her at her house on Friday. Being so wrapped up in her thoughts meant that even her mum noticed something was wrong although she didn't receive much of an explanation from Cris before the girl had slipped back up to her room.

 

  
Sunday was supposed to be a planning day for the girls' party but Cris had barely slept the night before and didn't want to endure any questioning from Eva or Viri and so now she found herself up on her rooftop; alone.

 

  
Cris checked her phone in vain once again and sighed when the only messages she found were from the girls. She pushed away the work she had been trying to do and opted for lighting a cigarette, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. This new position didn't last very long however as every time Cris closed her eyes, it was a new opportunity to envision the mysterious brunette.

 

  
Her eyes snapped back open as she took a particularly long draw and blew out the smoke with another sigh. Maybe she should've gone out with the girls she thought to herself, at the very least it would've taken her mind off things.

 

  
Just as she was about to give up on her work and head back inside, her phone buzzed and Cris all but lunged at the device on the ground. She almost yelled out loud when she saw it was a message from Joana but managed to catch herself just in time, mentally telling herself off for being excited over such a small little thing.

 

  
‘Sorry I kind of left you hanging on Friday, I wasn't feeling too good and my mum did want me back before 12 but we probably didn't have to rush off as soon as did. Hope you're doing okay and I'll see you on Monday'

 

  
Cris read the text and then re-read it. Maybe it was due to lack of sleep but she seemed to be going crazy over all this Joana business and although the text had eased her nerves, she was now over-analysing her response.

 

  
‘Hey, no problem. Hope you're feeling better now, see you in class' was what she settled on before stuffing her phone in her back pocket and turning back to her work, now actually able to do some of it as she was a lot calmer.

* * *

 

Cris woke up on Monday morning much more relaxed than she had been on Saturday or even Sunday morning. That was until her Mum called to her - that if she didn't hurry up, she was going to be late - and Cris remembered that she had to go to school today and that meant seeing Joana, the realisation turning her stomach upside down.

 

  
She managed to meet up with Amira at their usual spot only a few minutes late and apologised profusely to the other girl who just waved the apology away and dived straight into filling Cris in on all that had happened on Sunday. Cris was itching to tell Amira about her situation with Joana but knew that doing so would only invite more questions, ones that she wasn't ready to be asked never mind answer.

 

  
The pair somehow arrived at school with time to spare and so met up with the other girls who were congregated at their usual spot. Everyone fell into easy convocation except Cris who was still a nervous ball of energy and keeping an eye out for a certain blonde whilst trying to appear engaged.

 

  
_"What do you think Cris?"_ Asked Nora, interrupting Cris' people watching.

 

  
_"Hmm?"_ She said absent-mindedly, turning back to the group.

 

  
_"Where's your head at Tia?"_ Said Amira as all the girls turned their attention to the blonde.

 

  
_"You don't still have a hangover do you!"_ Teased Eva, receiving a poignant look from Nora that made Cris' stomach drop. Had Nora noticed something between her and Joana and Friday? It was possible seeing as the two girls were reasonably drunk and not doing much to hide their flirting.

 

  
Before Cris could answer any of the questions fired her way she was saved by the bell and the group made their way inside.

 

  
As Nora, Eva and Viri parted ways, Amira continued to walk in step with Cris. After a few moments of silence, the blonde stopped and turned to her friend. _"Isn't your class the other way?"_ She asked.

 

  
_"Yes, but I'm walking you to yours first, the professor doesn't care if I'm late anyway, I'm the only one who does all the work so...."_ Amira answered, linking Cris' arm with her own and setting off again.

 

  
A small _"Oh"_ was all Cris could muster in reply, she had been hoping that no one would've noticed Joana's absence but evidently, once something has become a habit, it's pretty obvious when it doesn't happen.

 

  
They continued in silence until they reached Cris' class where the pair stopped and Cris was about to walk in when Amira caught her arm and pulled her around gently.

 

  
_"Let's do something after school."_ The girl said and Cris thought it sounded more like a statement than an offer.

 

  
_"Yeah sure, I'll meet you out front after the last lesson."_ She replied with a smile which Amira returned before letting go of Cris' arm. _"Thanks for walking me to my class, by the way,"_ said Cris.

 

  
_"No problem, maybe soon we'll be fake girlfriends!"_ Joked Amira and Cris laughed along in spite of herself.

 

  
_"You sound like Eva"_ Replied Cris and the pair laughed again before Amira gently pushed Cris towards the door, bidding her goodbye before heading back down the hallway.

 

  
Cris smiled to herself as she walked into class, feeling a lot lighter than she had 5 minutes ago, not even bothered by the fact that she was sat at an empty desk, no Joana in sight.

 

  
10 minutes later and Pedro was in the middle of explaining their task when the door opened and Cris almost didn't look up to see Joana shuffle in... almost. The brunette looked slightly embarrassed about having all eyes on her as she made her way up to the front desk, whispering something to Pedro who nodded and motioned for her to sit down.

 

  
Cris pretended to be noting something down as Joana approached but then the girl sat down, they made eye contact and smiled.

 

  
Only when Pedro had set them off on the task did Cris look up again. _"Can I borrow a pen?"_ Asked Joana when Cris finally looked at her and Cris could tell the girl had been waiting for precisely that to ask.

 

  
_"Sure"_ She replied, rooting through her pencil case till she found one that would work and handing it over. Joana thanked her and set about writing notes down but evidently could feel Cris' eyes still trained on her because she had barely made it through a sentence when she stopped and put the pen down, looking at Cris with a quietly intrigued expression.

 

  
Cris quickly gathered her thoughts and glanced away from an expecting Joana before continuing. _"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why were you late? No pressure though if it's something personal or..."_ Cris trailed off, not quite sure where she was going with the sentence.

 

  
Something flickered across Joana's face, as if deciding how to respond but she just smiled and looked turned back to her paper, _"I was just running late, my mum's car wouldn't start too I had to walk which I hadn't planned on doing and I ended up forgetting half my stuff, like a pen."_ She said, twirling the one Cris had lent her. "Nothing to worry about." She added on the end for good measure.

 

  
_"Then why won't you look at me?"_ Cris blurted out. She hadn't meant to say that out loud and instantly turned bright red when Joana's head snapped up. _"Sorry, I didn't mean that... I just sort of have no filter and say stuff that I don't mean..."_ She fumbled out an apology, not daring to look Joana straight in the eye; ironic.

 

  
Before either of the girls could say anything more, Pedro's voice broke the tension. _"Everything okay girls?"_ He asked from the front. The pair nodded quickly, Joana looking up at him whilst Cris still stared at her paper. _"Alright then, more working and less talking then please."_ He spoke again and both girls hurriedly began writing, glad to have an excuse to not deal with the awkwardness that had just been laid out in front of them by Cris.

 

  
They somehow managed to make it through the rest of the lesson without having to speak at all. That didn't mean they weren't frequently casting glances at each other, trying to be sneaky but failing miserably and only adding to the tension that was now so thick you could cut it.

 

  
  
As soon as the lesson ended, Cris turned to Joana and opened her mouth to speak but the brunette beat her to it.

 

  
  
_"Look, I'm sorry I've been a bit off, I‘ve been going through some stuff at the moment which I'm not ready to talk about yet but maybe in the future. Can we just forget everything that happened the past few days and just remember the good times"_ She finished, looking at Cris hopefully.

 

  
  
It hadn't been exactly what Cris had anticipated or wanted but it was good enough so she smiled and nodded. _"Gladly"_ Cris replied and Joana smiled widely at her.

 

  
  
Both girls packed their things side-by-side and Joana slung her arm over Cris' shoulders as they exited the room together.

* * *

 

  
  
As they entered the cafeteria, Cris immediately caught sight of the girl squad and was about to make a beeline for them when she felt Joana's arm leave her shoulder. _"What's up?"_ She asked the brunette.

 

  
  
_"Nothing, it's just you were heading to your friends so I though… I don't know we've never really hung out all together."_ Said Joana sheepishly.

 

  
  
_"Don't be silly,"_ Cris replied breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't something major. _"They'll love you,"_ she said reaching for Joana's hand but the girl quickly moved it away and a flash of hurt crossed Cris' face.

 

  
  
_"I'm sorry"_ Said Joana when she saw Cris' face. _"Not today,"_

 

  
  
_"It's fine, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, I'm not going to force you,"_ Cris reassured with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as the pair walked side-by-side to the other side of the room. About halfway across Cris felt Joana's arm snake back around her shoulders and Cris' half-smile grew.

 

  
  
A chorus of _"Cris!"_ Rang out when they reached the table and Amira mouthed a subtle ‘Okay?' to which Cris nodded.

 

  
  
_"I don't think you guys have formally met Joana"_ Cris stated, sliding into a seat and motioning for Joana to do the same.  


 

Another round of _"Hey"_ followed, along with each of the groups' names and Joana smiled awkwardly which made Cris giggle.  


 

Unsurprisingly, Joana fit right into the group and Cris sat back and watched as her best friends chatted away with her ‘girlfriend', it was almost relaxing. However, as Cris had learnt, ‘relaxing' didn't last long when Joana was involved as the next time Joana leaned in to tell Eva something she placed her hand on Cris' thigh.  


 

This wouldn't usually be a problem but this was Joana and that one hand ignited a fire in Cris that started in her thigh and spread up to her face till she turned her signature shade of crimson. She swallowed thickly and tried to regain some composure before anyone noticed but she should've known better of Amira.  


 

The girl in question had already picked up on Cris' odd behaviour and raised a questioning eyebrow towards Cris who tried her best to ignore her friend. But despite her attempts, it seemed as though the world was against her because Amira looked to Cris' lap where she had been accidentally staring in her attempts to avoid any eye contact and, when Amira noticed what was going on, she snorted out loud before trying to cover it with a cough. Cris glared daggers at Amira till the girl shook her head and turned her attention back to the convocation. 

* * *

 

 

The rest of Cris' day ran a lot more smoothly, less Joana interactions meant less confusing and conflicting feelings. But, it also meant less fun and although it ran smoothly, by the end of the day, Cris was bored out of her mind.  


 

She met Joana at the exit as usual and they said their goodbyes, Cris pressing a lingering kiss on Joana's cheek before speed walking down the stairs and almost jumping on Amira. _"Let's go!"_ She said enthusiastically, wanting to leave her confusing day behind whilst Amira just laughed at her behaviour.  


 

Cris had a sneaking suspicion that Amira wouldn't let her confusing day end and by the time they reached the small café they regularly visited, her sneaking suspicion had become daunting realisation that Amira was going to ask her all those questions she wasn't ready to be asked. Despite that, Cris had to give her friend credit, for the best part of the last 45 minutes, Amira had done a good job at trying to distract Cris from things; allowing Cris to unwind a bit before the interrogation.  


 

Upon reflection, Cris wasn't sure if that was just Amira being kind or whether it was a strategic manoeuver by her childhood friend; both options entirely plausible.  


 

_"So, I think we need to have a little catch-up,"_ Amira said sipping her hot chocolate.  


 

_"Isn't that what we've just been doing?"_ Cris asked, playing innocent.  


 

_"I meant with Joana related things,"_ Amira replied, clearly having none of Cris' act.  


 

_"Do we have to?_ " Cris complained, now not caring that she sounded like a whiney toddler.  


 

" _Yes, and you should probably start with what happened on Friday."_ Said Amira slightly softer, taking pity on Cris.  


 

Some five minutes later and Cris had finally finished telling Amira about her eventful evening. _"I mean yeah that sounds pretty chaotic, at least you had fun most of the night."_ Amira joked when Cris finished and was taking a sip of her drink.  


 

_"Did you forget to listen to the part where she completely freaked on me and wanted to leave early?"_ Cris said dryly which caused Amira to almost choke on hers.  


 

" _I said most of the night!" S_ he countered before sighing when Cris looked just as defeated. _"Well, it seemed like whatever happened it happened when Ruben showed up. But maybe if she said that she wasn't feeling well then you should believe her."_ Amira added which only added to Cris' confusions about that night.  


 

_"Maybe you're right, maybe it did have something to do with Ruben. I mean I know he can be annoying but he's not that bad to look at"_ Cris shrugged and Amira snorted once again but Cris was too deep in thought to return the smile.  


 

_"Unless it was the complete opposite! What if she actually has a crush on Ruben and that's why she went all weird!"_ Cris said sounding proud of her barely-there detective work.  


 

_"I really don't think that's the case,"_ Amira said, smiling at Cris with what looked like pity.

 

Pity was the last thing Cris needed right now and it just about sent her over the edge. _"Then what is the case!"_ She snapped, instantly regretting taking her frustrations out on Amira. A _"sorry, that wasn't fair"_ quickly followed and Amira just sighed.  


 

_"Seeing as over-analysing all this doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere, why don't we talk about a slightly different angle of this."_ Said Amira.

 

 

_"And what angle would that be?"_ Asked Cris, too tired to even put up a fight at this point.

 

 

  
_"The angle that suggests that you would prefer this whole fake dating thing to be a little less fake,"_ Amira said bluntly and now it was Cris' turn to nearly choke on her drink.  


 

_"Shit, you take the whole ‘get to the point thing' a bit seriously."_ Cris managed, still spluttering slightly.  


 

_"Yeah sorry about that but I thought you might be a bit bored of me trying to get you to admit stuff first,"_ Amira replied, grinning at Cris and handing her a napkin to clean up the mess.  


 

_"You make a fair point,"_ Cris said, finally smiling at Amira in return.  


 

_"What, about the fact that you have a crush on Joana or about the whole admitting feelings thing?"_ Amira asked, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.  


 

_"It's official, you've been spending way too much time around Eva!"_ Cris accused but couldn't hide the smile that slipped from behind her façade of annoyance. _"But fine, yes I like Joana. But it's nothing, just a tiny crush."_ She assured though neither looked or felt assured by the statement.  


 

_"Riiiight! Except that little scenario in the cafeteria begs to differ."_ Amira said raising her eyebrows and Cris decided she better stop drinking her drink because she was either going to end up actually choking on it or spraying it across the table.  


 

_"Okay, we do not ever talk about that again!"_ Cris said and help her little finger out for Amira to link.  


 

_"Fair enough, I think that's enough interrogation for today, finish your drink before it ends up all over the table and then w should probably head home. I have a good reputation with your mum to uphold of getting her daughter home before dinner."_ Amira said, smiling at her friend. 

 

 

The pair chatted some more before Amira stuck true to her word and delivered Cris home in time for dinner. 

 

  
Grateful for the chat she'd had with Amira, Cris was able to have another decent nights sleep, her feelings not quite ordered but her thoughts clearer. Tomorrow she would have to have a convocation with Joana and clear the air for good, she didn't want things to get awkward between them, partly because they still had to keep up this dating façade but also because Cris genuinely valued their friendship. 

* * *

  


The next day meant no classes with Joana and before school was too early to have anything resembling a coherent convocation so Cris was set on cornering Joana after school. However, this meant that Cris had all day to think and re-think what she was going to say and even with Amira advising her what to say - but mainly what not to say – Cris' palms were slick with sweat when the final lesson ended.  


 

She made her way to the from of school like every day but when Joana grinned at her and went in for a hug, she pulled her aside, ignoring all protests until they were safely tucked around the corner of the building.  


 

_"Cris what the hell! You're not going to kidnap me are you?"_ Joana half protested, half laughed.  


 

_"We need to talk,"_ Cris said flatly because she knew if she engaged in Joana's teasing she would never get to what she wanted to say.  


 

_"Okay."_ Said Joana, suddenly becoming serious and listening attentively to Cris.  


 

Cris took a deep breath wiped her palms on her trousers before starting.

 

_"Okay look... no actually just listen. I'm really sorry if I made things awkward asking about Friday or whatever, I honestly didn't mean to and what I don't want to do that now either. Whatever's going on, I'm not entitled to know – even if it would be nice to – which I don't mean in a bitchy way, I just mean that you can trust me and I want you to know that you can talk to me if you want to, no judgement here. We're supposed to be girlfriends which means talking, it means you don't get to shut down and keep everything to yourself and I don't get to be passive-aggressive or overthink every conversation we have! And it might not even be real but at the very least we're friends. And if you have a crush on Ruben or think he's attractive and want to make out with him that's fine by me but it would be nice to know so next time he's around I know that you're going to start acting weird…"_

 

She was almost finished when Joana interrupted her. _"Woah hold on, can we just backtrack to the Ruben thing please!"_ Joana said disbelievingly.  


 

_"I haven't finished yet"_ Cris protested, not happy that Joana hadn't just waited till she had finished.  


 

" _Yes I know and I'm really sorry but we seriously need to backtrack to the Ruben thing, you think I like him?"_ Joana exclaimed, still in shock.  


 

Cris was getting angry now if Joana was going to interrupt her the least she could do was take it seriously. _"I mean it makes sense, it covers the fact that only when he appears did you go weird and want to leave. And honestly it doesn't even bother me but it would be nice to know if I'm just being used so you can get in his pants!"_ Cris was basically yelling now and she knew she was overreacting but weeks of pent up emotions were flooding out and there was nothing she could do to stop them now.  


 

_"Really! Do you think I'd fucking use you like that? You think I'm such a shit person that I'd do something like that! You really are shallow!"_ Joana retorted, matching Cris' volume. They were sure to gain attention anytime soon but Cris didn't care at this point. 

 

  
_"It makes sense Joana, I obviously don't think you'd use me but the whole crush on Ruben think just makes sense and if you're not going to give me anything more to work with then I just have to do my best,"_ Cris shouted, becoming defeated.  


 

_"God, you're so oblivious…."_ Joana muttered and Cris was amazed that she didn't storm of right there.

 

_"Fine, if you're going to be childish then I'll just go and this little agreement we have can finally be over and you can go make out with whoever you want."_ Cris scoffed, having to take a breath so she didn't do something even stupider than starting this convocation in the first place.  


 

_"Except I can't"_ Joana replied with a sigh.  


 

_"Can't what?"_ Cris asked, feeling bad at having shouted at the brunette who now looked incredibly small in front of her.  


 

_"I can't make out with whoever I want because it's not Ruben, it's not him, it never has been but that would be so easy. It would be so easy because he's conventionally attractive, single and a decent guy. But he's not who I want to kiss…"_ She trailed off, not sure what else to say.  


 

_"Then who is?"_ Cris asked tentatively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, look who finally got some motivation to write. And no I did not binge-write this for the majority of the day just because I had the motivation to do so...... Also sorry if there are mistakes, it's late and I'm too tired to proofread thoroughly.
> 
> Anyway, no promises about when the next one will be up but I'll try and see if this motivation train lasts longer than 24hours!
> 
> As always kudos and comments are greatly appreciated and send any prompts via the comments or to my Tumblr @random_contemplations


	5. Chapter 5- I mean I guess I could try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little heads up, the bit in bold in a flashback.

_“Then who is?”_ Cris asked tentatively.

* * *

 

_“Who do you think Cris?”_ Joana asked with a sigh.

_"I don't know! That's why I asked..."_ Cris' voice trailed off as she noticed that Joana had taken a step foreword so they were stood face to face. If she wanted to, Cris could reach out and touch Joana’s face with as much tenderness as she felt towards the girl.

However, before Cris could scold herself for thinking the way she was, Joana did exactly that. She could’ve sworn she felt her heart stop as slightly calloused fingertips trailed along her jaw.

_“Who do you think Cris?”_ Joana asked again. They were so close now that their breaths mixed and when Joana breathed the words, Cris inhaled a minty scent.

All the blonde could do was swallow the lump in her throat, unable to form any words let alone a coherent sentence. She was in a daze as she focused on Joana’s tongue darting out to wet her slightly parted lips, and the fingers that were now resting just under her jawline.

Cris almost cried when she heard a voice break the girls from their bubble and she felt Joana physically deflate.

_“Cris, everything okay?”_ Came the voice that belonged to Dani. _“I heard shouting so I just wanted to check that everything was okay.”_ He said.

Cris could feel Joana’s hand start to pull away from her flushed face and quickly grabbed it, reversing their positions and pushing the brunette against the wall and out of Dani’s view before sticking her head around the corner.

_“Yeah I’m fine,”_ She called to her brother, praying that he wouldn’t ask any more questions.

_“Okay, I’m heading home. Don’t be too late or you know what mum will be like!”_ He said and Cris breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him walk away, only then realising the position she had been pinning Joana in.

She quickly took a step back to let the brunette breathe normally and the girl in front of her let out a shaky laugh. _“What is it with us and being interrupted?”_ Joana asked, more to herself than Cris but the blonde still laughed lightly in agreement.

_“Well, I should get going.”_ Said Joana when Cris didn’t make a move to speak and she was about to walk away when the younger girl reached out and grabbed her arm.

Cris’ mind was still coming up blank with what to say or do but it was if her body was moving on instinct, grabbing Joana’s arm and pulling her in close. All of a sudden everything seemed to click back into place and she tilted her head up, crashing her lips again Joana’s.

She cringed when their noses bumped awkwardly but soon forgot all about it when she felt Joana’s rigid body melt into hers, the brunette’s arms snaking around Cris’ waist and stopping at the small of her back, pulling her in impossibly closer. Cris could taste a hint of cherry from Joana’s chap-stick and quickly decided it was her new favourite taste as she pushed even harder against Joana’s lips, her hands gripping the famous denim jacket with everything they had.

Joana was the first to pull away, breathing heavily yet in sync with Cris who still had her eyes screwed shut, scared to open them in case everything that had just happened had been a dream. She finally opened them, once she felt a thumb gently caressing her cheek, and the first thing she saw were Joana’s eyes looking back at her with such adoration that Cris though her heart might break. She was glad to see that Joana’s cheeks were almost as flushed as her own and smiled when she tucked a strand of hair behind the brunette’s ear and found it to be bright red.

_“I thought there was a strictly no kissing rule?”_ Joana teased once she had caught her breath.

_“Just shut up and let me enjoy this before someone interrupts us again!”_ Cris said, sliding her hands inside Joana’s jacket and mimicking how the older girl had held her before.

_"Yes, boss!"_ Joana said playfully and softly grabbed Cris’ face, expertly trapping the blonde’s bottom lip between her own.

If Cris hadn’t been so focused on breathing correctly, she would’ve been relieved to hear the old Joana back again; but as things were, she was slightly too busy keeping herself upright. Head spinning, her senses were completely encompassed by the other girl. Her smell, her taste, even the feel of warmth radiating from her body sent Cris crazy, along with the small sighs of pleasure which escaped her lips. The best part was when Cris opened her eyes and pulled back once again, to drink in the sight of a slightly dishevelled yet nevertheless _“beautiful”_ Joana.

_"Thanks,"_ Joana said bashfully and Cris looked at her slightly bewildered before realising she had said the ‘beautiful’ part out loud. Cris’ thought process was shown clearly on her face and caused Joana to laugh loudly which only made the blonde’s heart swell further and she leaned her head on Joana’s shoulder to steady herself.

_“I meant what I said the other night, about you affecting my head in more ways than one,"_ Cris mumbled into Joana's neck, blowing out hot air that made the other girl shiver.   _“You’re making me crazy Bianchi!”_

_“Oh, I don’t think you need any help with that!”_ Joana joked and Cris tutted but was too content to come up with a retort.

They stayed in each others’ arms for a few minutes longer until Cris checked the time and groaned, _“I should head home before my mum starts wondering where I am.”_ She said, reluctantly peeling herself away from Joana.

Joana tucked a strand of hair behind Cris’ ear and kissed her on the forehead, _“Alright then guapa, see you tomorrow”_ she said and the pair walked around to the front of the school in silence before parting ways.

Cris walked home in a daze of giddy bliss, aware that she and Joana needed to have a proper talk but too content to give it much thought. She got a few questioning glances from her family when she arrived home, a grin plastered to her face but that didn't bother her either.

* * *

 

The rest of the week progressed as normal except for the fact that Cris was now visibly lighter and generally more smiley. That, and that she and Joana were now a lot more touchy, finding themselves repeating their mini make-out session a few more times.

One particularly memorable moment had been lunch on Thursday...

**Cris and Joana entered the cafeteria hand-in-hand, ignoring the few prying eyes they got from other students and making a bee-line for their usual table which was currently occupied by Amira and Lucas.**

**_“Hey,”_ Cris said when they reached the table, taking a seat opposite her two friends, Joana swiftly following her lead. **

**_“You’re cheerful,”_ Said Lucas, not so subtly looking from Cris to Joana and back to Cris again. The blonde just rolled her eyes and Joana laughed at her response as the convocation was quickly shifted to something that didn’t involve her and Joana.**

**They were soon joined by the rest of the group and everyone had begun eating their lunch when Cris leant foreword to steal some of Eva’s crisps, placing her hand on Joana’s thigh to steady herself. The brunette tensed beside her but quickly relaxed again into Cris’ touch. What Joana didn’t expect was for the blonde to start drawing lazy circles with her index finger and Cris could feel her getting more agitated by the second.**

**_“Cris!”_ Joana hissed.**

**_“Yes?”_ Cris replied, faking innocence.**

**_“What are you doing?”_ Joana asked, shuffling her legs to try and thrown Cris' handoff without drawing attention.**

**_“Nothing”_ Cris replied, keeping a straight face and staring straight ahead at Viri who was talking animatedly. **

**_“Cris!”_ Joana hissed again, slightly louder this time. **

**Cris took pity on the brunette and removed her hand and concealing a laugh as Joana scooted a few centimetres away from her.**

Then, of course, there was that make-out session after class on Friday which made Cris blush just thinking about it; not an ideal consequence considering she was now sat eating dinner with her family on a sunny Saturday evening.

_“What’re you grinning about again?”_ Asked Dani with a mouth full of food.

_“Dani!”_ Her mother scolded and Cris smirked at her brother.

_“Like you haven’t noticed too. She’s always home late from school and she’s been smiling nonstop since Tuesday”_ Dani teased once he had swallowed his food.

_“He has a point Cristina”_ Spoke Cris’ dad and Cris rolled her eyes.

_“You know you can talk to us about anything Cristina,”_ Said her mum and Cris wished the ground would swallow her up.

_“Yes mum but there’s nothing to talk about,”_ Replied Cris, fidgeting under all the unwanted attention.

_“Like boyfriends or anything you might be curious about at your age,”_ Cris’ mum carried on, not even acknowledging Cris’ previous statement.

_“Yeah Cris, you sure you haven’t got any boyfriends to talk about!”_ Dani said with a smirk and Cris gave him a sharp kick under the table.

Cris had known that if she was going to pretend to be Joana’s girlfriend to get rid of Ruben then her brother would inevitably find out but she hadn’t been worried. She had come out to Dani not long after she had come out to the girls and he had been equally supportive so Cris hadn’t been worried. She wasn’t, however, prepared for this teasing.

_“I’m just saying...”_ Her mum tried to continue before Cris cut her off.

_“Yes, I get it mum, but I don’t have a boyfriend and I’m not ‘curious’ about anything so please can we not have this convocation over dinner!”_ Cris said, obviously irritated and so her family dropped the matter and moved swiftly on.

Cris retreated to her room after they had finished and quickly opened her phone to see a text from Joana which made her smile.

‘Hey beautiful, you free tomorrow?’

‘Depends who’s asking’ Cris typed back, flopping back onto her bad and rolling onto her stomach.

‘Only the most famous Spanish countess in the world!’

‘Well, then I guess I could free up some time. I’m meeting up with the girls for lunch and to do some planning but we could do something after, what did you have in mind?’ Cris shot back almost instantly, she wasn’t one to care about waiting to text back.

‘My treat, I’ll pick you up at 6 **:** 00 and have you home before dinner!’ was the reply, followed by some random Emojis.

‘Sound good although you might have to wear a name tag so my parents know you’re not my new boyfriend’

‘And who might this new boyfriend be? Do I know him?’

‘Well my parents seem to have picked up on the fact that I have been particularly cheery this week and seeing as that's not an emotion I'm allowed to feel without someone else being involved, they came to the clever conclusion that I must have a boyfriend’ Cris texted.

‘Well he must be very lucky but I’ll have to break the news to him that I‘ve been trying to seduce his girl’ Cris snorted into her pillow as she read and re-read the text, she was definitely enjoying all this new flirting that had come from kissing Joana.

‘I guess I’ll also have to tell him that it’s working’ Cris sent back, not even worried if it was too foreword, she was past overthinking things when it came to Joana. However, she was mildly confused when instead of seeing little dots appear, Joana’s contact lit up her whole screen.

_“Hi,”_ Cris smiled when she pressed accept and Joana’s face came into view.

_“Hi”_ Joana replied. _“Sorry if you’re busy but I kind of just needed to see your face... And to make sure you weren’t with your boyfriend!”_ Cris’ heart swelled and her smile widened at Joana’s words.

_“No boys here, and definitely no boyfriend!”_ Cris said, panning the phone around her room for Joana to inspect.

_“Good good. What’re you doing then if you’re not flirting with your boyfriend?”_ Joana asked.

_“Flirting with you”_ Cris replied with a smirk.

_“Very funny, I meant don’t you have work you need to do?”_ Joana said through a grin.

_"Yes, mum! But I’d rather be talking to you so it can wait.”_ Said Cris.

_“I was thinking we could just chill like this for a bit but still do stuff if that makes sense. We don't have to talk much, I just wanted to see your face not keep you from your  work.”_ Joana explained, rubbing the back of her neck. Cris let the bubble of joy spread outwards from her heart before answering.

_“Yeah that works but you’re not just going to sit there like a creep and watch me do philosophy homework are you?”_ Cris joked.

_“No don’t worry. As much as I’d like to, I’ve got some drawing to do for this hospital project anyway.”_ Replied the brunette, brandishing a pencil.

_“Okay then!”_ Cris smiled and set her phone up against the headboard of her bed before grabbing her things from her desk and getting comfy.

The girls worked for an hour, occasionally exchanging light conversation and bouncing ideas off of each other.

_“That must be the most work I’ve done in one sitting since the beginning of the year when I actually had the energy for schoolwork!”_ Said Cris with a happy sigh as she put her books away and jumped back onto the bed. _“Do I get to see what you drew seeing as I read you my essay?”_ She asked with a tired smile.

_“Umm sure,”_ Joana said, shuffling through the papers in front of her. _“So I did some rough sketches for the hospital project first_ ,” She explained, holding up a sheet with four detailed drawings in black ink.

_“Fuck, I wish my rough sketches looked like that! I can’t wait to see what the finished design looks like”_ Cris said, in awe of Joana’s ability.

_"Well, I did draw one out that I had already planned”_ Joana continued, holding up a second sheet with a singular drawing covering most of the page. It seemed to be a wilting plant surrounded by snapping animals with sharp teeth.

_“Holy shit!”_ Cris exclaimed a little too loudly and she immediately heard her mum scolding her from the other room which caused Joana to laugh. _“You should commission drawings or something, they’re like insanely good.”_ Said Cris, a little quieter this time.

_"Thanks,"_ Joana said with a grin. _"Um and then I ran out of ideas so I did this instead...”_ The brunette continued and her cheeks blushed as she held up a third sheet of paper. This time, the drawing was in pencil and it was a cartoon version of Cris; sat crossed-legged on her bed, holding a pen and grinning widely. 

Cris wasn’t sure what to say this time and all her brain came up with was, _“That’s me.”_

_“Yeah, I needed some inspiration to clear my mind and you were there,"_ Joana said shyly.

_"Wow, it's... Joana, I love it!"_ Cris finally said and she heard the brunette breathe a sigh of relief.

_“You can have it if you want”_ Said Joana, running her hand through her hair.

_“Thanks,”_ Said Cris, her mouth going dry as she watched Joana get up to pin the sheets to her wardrobe, realising the older girl was wearing ridiculously short shorts. She gulped and shook herself from her train of thought by which time Joana had tied her hair up in a bun and Cris could clearly see an undercut; that was new.

_“How did I not know you had an undercut?”_ Cris asked calmly when Joana sat back down.

_“I guess you’re not very observant”_ Joked Joana and Cris rolled her eyes.

_“Sorry if I spend more time admiring your face than the back of your head”_ Replied Cris grinning as she noticed a small blush gracing the other girls’ cheeks.

_“Well you should spend more time admiring the back of my head, I consider it my best feature!”_ Joana said in mock seriousness.

The pair continued chatting for hours, quieter when Cris’ mum told her she was being too loud and quieter still when the rest of the house had gone dark. They talked about everything and anything, ranging from stupid would you rather questions to pondering philosophical questions. Talking to Joana was easy and Cris just wanted to know more and more about the elusive brunette but reluctantly let sleep take over just after 1 am.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Cris met up with the rest of the girls at a café in Chueca as planned. They ordered food and drinks and Viri pulled out a large binder filled with plans for a party as well at the end of year trip which had brought them all together.

Convocation flitted from the party to the trip and back again, nothing much else was discussed for the first half of the meeting until plates were empty, another round of drinks had been ordered and Viri had finally put the binder back in her bag.

Their drinks came, a mixture of coffees and a milkshake fro Viri, and Amira finally rounded on Cris.

_“So, are you going to enlighten us on why you’ve been so chipper recently or are we going to have to play twenty questions?”_ She asked taking a long sip of her respective drink.

Cris spluttered slightly and Nora patted her on the back comfortingly, not doing much except maybe reassuring Cris. _"What is it with everyone grilling me on why I'm happier than usual, first my parents and now you. Can't a girl just be happy with no other explanation?"_ She said slightly too defensively.

_“I mean being happy isn’t a crime but it doesn’t really explain all the ‘subtle’ PDA you and Joana have been putting on all of a sudden”_ Eva smirked, emphasising ‘subtle’ with exaggerated air quotes. At this, Cris blushed and groaned slightly at her friend’s bluntness.

_“Or the fact that you’ve been weird since the party,”_ Viri piped up.

_“Or the fact that you haven’t walked home with me since Monday,”_ Added Amira.

_“Okay, I get the point!”_ Cris shot at her friends in defeat before they could try and add to her rapidly spreading blush. _“What do you want me to say? I’m just happy at the moment; school is actually going okay, my family and being less annoying than usual, Joana and I are in a good place and I’m surrounded by my amazing friends.”_ Cris chose her words carefully, she didn’t know if she was ready to enlighten the girls about her and Joana’s ups and downs just yet, except Amira.

_“Flattery won’t get you anywhere Soto!”_ Eva teased and Amira shot Cris a look she wasn’t sure how to interpret.

_“Why does this have to be about Joana anyway? What if it’s about a boy?”_ Cris said, eyeing each of her friends in turn.

_“Because you have a massive crush on Joana, not some random guy.”_ Replied Amira nonchalantly.

Cris opened her mouth, ready to fire back a retort and an expression that Amira would hopefully understand as ‘What the hell! I told you that in confidence!’ but was stopped in her tracks when she realised the others were silent. What’s more, none of them looked surprised by Amira’s statement and instead were looking at Cris expectantly.

_“Why are you all looking at me like that? Did she already tell you or something?”_ Cris asked, suspicious of the scenario she had found herself in the middle of.

_“No, but it’s pretty obvious Cris,”_ Replied Nora.

_“Yeah tia, you’re super gay and really bad at hiding it!”_ Eva chimed in causing Amira to snort and Nora to flash her a disapproving look.

_“Eva’s pretty blunt but she has a point, even I picked up on it and we all know how oblivious I am,”_ Said Viri and that was enough for Cris to groan and bury her head in her hands yet again.

_“Okay, so maybe I have a bit of a crush on Joana and kind of wished we were less ‘fake girlfriends’ and more ‘real girlfriends’. And maybe so sort of kissed on Tuesday afterschool... a few times. And yeah maybe I'm confused now because we're in such a great place but I don't know where this puts up on the spectrum of dating and I don’t want to ask and make it weird. So yeah, is that what you wanted me to say?”_ Trying to sound angry but failing and instead just sounding tired.

A chorus of disbelieving gasps, an _“I knew it”_ from Eva and a few exclamatory curses later and Cris tentatively rose her head to four smiling faces and in spite of herself, Cris returned the smile.

_“So now that angsty Cris has got that all out of the way do you think you could enlighten us on how the Fuck this happened!”_ Eva exclaimed and Cris laughed lightly.

_“I suppose I could do that,”_ She replied, deciding that opening up to the girls might help her navigate her feelings.

So with a sigh, she told them everything; from her realising she had a crush on Joana, to the party and the events that followed, to Tuesday after school and the similar moments since, before finally finishing with the chat they had had last night.

_“So you’re going to meet her later then?”_ Asked Viri when Cris was done.

_"Yep,"_ Cris replied, taking a long drink of her coffee.

_“That’s perfect, you can tell her how you really feel then!”_ Viri said enthusiastically.

_“How am I even supposed to do that?”_ Cris asked, genuinely grateful when her friends offered to help her make a plan. So that’s what they did, half an hour later and a detailed plan etched into Cris mind, she was walking home with Amira by her side.

_“Sorry if I pressured you back there to tell us stuff, I didn’t mean to I just don’t like seeing you all trapped in you’re own thoughts,"_ Amira said after a while.

_“Don’t worry about it, I’m actually glad you did. It felt good to tell you guys plus you helped me."_ Cris said earnestly and Amira responded with a soft smile.

They arrived back at Cris’ at 5:15 which gave her 45 minutes to get ready, that would be enough time!

_“I’ll see you on Monday then,”_ Said Cris, turning to hug her friend.

_“Yep, and have fun tonight, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,”_ Amira replied with a knowing smirk but before Cris could question, Amira had turned on her heel and marched off.

* * *

 

 

Around 5:45 Cris was finishing up her makeup when her phone pinged. She finished what she was doing and picked it up, seeing a text from Joana and opening it right away.

‘How do you feel about pushing the time back to 6:30 and letting me keep you till about 10?’

‘No problem, should I tell my mum I’ll be eating out then?’ Cris replied and her answer came back seconds later.

‘I didn’t know we were there yet guapa but whatever you want ;)’ Cris snorted at the response, she had definitely walked right into that one.

‘You know that’s not what I meant idiota!’

‘Yes, I will be providing the food’

‘Okay, see you at 6:30 then!’ Cris sent and Joana simply replied with a smiley face.

Cris’ first task was to ask her parents if it was okay to eat with Joana to which her mother begrudgingly agreed, telling Cris to be home before eleven. When Cris returned to her room she realised it wasn’t even 6 yet so with half an hour to kill she decided to make a playlist for the evening. Something that always seemed to calm her was music and if Cris was ever going to get through the speech she had rehearsed in her head she would need a little help.

At exactly 6:30 the bell rang and Cris used to the door, flinging it open to see a grinning Joana on the other side. The girl was wearing a dark stripy top over a long white one with her signature denim jacket draped over one arm, it was a simple look but it screamed Joana and somehow made Cris forget how to speak.

_“Hey,”_ Said the grinning brunette apparently oblivious to Cris’ chronic gay panic, Eva might’ve had a point.

_“Hi,”_ Cris said, her voice small, how did this girl manage to completely mess with her mind when all she was doing was standing still.

_“Should we get out of here or are you planning on ogling me all night until your mum comes along and I have to find my name tag so she knows I’m not your boyfriend?”_ Joana said, the smirk on her lips growing to a grin when Cris quickly looked at the floor in embarrassment.

She hastily stepped out of the door and closed t behind her, taking Joana’s arm as the girl lead her towards the steps, Cris was about to suggest they just take the elevator when they turned and started to walk up the stairs, not down them.

_“Where are we going?”_ Cris asked, confused.

_“You’ll see querida,”_ Joana replied and Cris smiled softly at the pet name, she could get used to that, she thought before immediately scolding herself. Her and Joana might have kissed but that didn't mean Joana wanted there to be any feelings attached. 

They kept climbing until they reached a door Cris all too familiar with, it was the door that lead to the roof.

_“What are we-“_ She began but was silenced by Joana kissing her on the cheek and lacing their hands together before nudging the door open to reveal an abundance of fairy lights which softly lit a path from the door and around to a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor.

Joana led Cris over to the pile of things and guided them down so they were leaning against a tower of pillows with numerous blankets under them so it was unexpectedly comfy.

_“How did you?.... Why?”_ Cris asked, opening and closing her mouth but no words came out.

_“I mean I knew you’d be surprised but I didn’t think you’d be speechless that usually only happens when more tongue is involved.”_ Joana joked, laughing at Cris’ expression of disbelief.

_“In answer to your question,”_ Joana continued when Cris didn’t reply. _“I may have asked Amira for help in regards to where I should do this and she said that this was kind of your little spot where you go to get away from things. She somehow managed to rope your brother into helping us, which was probably made easier by the fact that he is completely whipped, but anyway he helped me set everything up earlier. As for the why, partly because I wanted us to be able to get away from everything for a while but also because I wanted to treat you.”_ Joana finished, the smile on her face had never wavered once and had gotten ever wider if possible.

If Cris was speechless before, this was a whole new level of blown away. She couldn’t believe that Joana had gone to all the trouble of organising something like this just for her and Cris was finding it increasingly hard to listen to the voice in her head that was telling her Joana didn’t want any feelings attached. Certain that if she tried to speak she would either burst into tears or say something she’d regret so Cris settled on the only thing she could do in the moment which was pull Joana in by the back of her neck and kiss he. Hard.

But despite the ferocity of the initial contact, Cris’ tension and fears quickly fell away as the girls melted into one another’s touch and kiss because much softer and slower which Cris hoped would effectively convey the raw emotion she was currently feeling.

_“I’ll take that as an indication you like it,”_ Joana said breathlessly when they pulled away.

 Cris hummed in agreement and kissed Joana once again before sitting back and properly taking in her surroundings. To Joana's right, there was a picnic basket which Cris assumed contained their dinner. The spot Joana had picked was also perfect, you could see the city skyline clearly and the low handing sun.

_“Are we watching the sunset?”_ Cris asked after a moment of realisation.

_“Yeah, it’s supposed to set at about 8:45 so that gives us plenty of time to eat the food, some of it’s homemade and some is just shop bought but I hope you like it anyway, Amira said you're not really a fussy eater so just to go with whatever I thought was best. I also brought a speaker so we can play some music if you want, I’ll even let you be the DJ!”_ Joana said and Cris shook her head in disbelief at the amazing girl in front of her.

‘Holy shit I think I’m falling for her!’ Was Cris’ immediate thought

Joana produced the promised speaker and handed it over to Cris who immediately played the playlist she had made for tonight. The pair chatted and ate till they couldn’t eat anymore and Cris’ stomach ached from laughing. As the time neared 8:45 and the sun hung even lower in the sky, Joana started to pack away the containers of empty food and produced two more blankets which she draped over them.

Cris, who hadn't brought a jacket, was starting to get cold so she curled into Joana's side and the brunette responded by snaking her arm around Cris' shoulder, pulling her in closer. They sat in comfortable silence for a while as they watched the sun drop lower and lower until it finally sunk out of sight.

_“What do you think about the concept of parallel universes?”_ Joana asked suddenly, making Cris look up at her only to find Joana staring out over the city.

_“I like it, it’s kind of comforting to think that I’m not alone out there, that there are other Cris’ making the same mistakes as me or making different ones. Living the same high or living different ones. There will be Cris’ out there that chose a different path to me, made a decision differently and so are living a completely different life. I don’t know, it just makes out insignificance in the grand scheme of things seem a little less insignificant. Why do you ask?”_ Cris replied, examining Joana’s side profile until the older girl turned to look at her.

_“Do you think we meet in every universe?”_ asked Joana, ignoring Cris question.

_“I would like to think so yeah, maybe we meet like we did in this universe or maybe we meet differently but I’d like to think that ever Cris out there has a Joana who will do this kind of thing for her."_ Said Cris, indulging in the thought of being in a universe where she and Joana were together, for real.

Joana turned back to look out over the city as the first few stars began to appear in the sky but not before Cris could catch the hint of a blush forming on Joana’s cheeks. _“I’m sure there's a universe out there where I mess it all up, where I say something stupid or do something stupid and ruin it for us both,"_ Joana said thoughtfully, her brow creased slightly.

_"For the record, I don't think anything you say or do is stupid, what could you possibly do that could ruin us?"_ Cris asked, absentmindedly reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind Joana’s ear and pausing when her fingers grazed the soft fuzz of Joana’s undercut.

Joana let out a melancholy laugh and turned to Cris again, _“I can think of a few,”_ She said with a sad smile that made Cris' heartache, all she wanted to do was kiss it away and so she did.

Somehow Cris ended up straddling Joana's lap as one hand found the undercut she had decided she was addicted to, stroking it softly, whilst the other hand hung loosely around Joana’s neck. Joana was cradling Cris’ face, a thumb gently caressing her cheek.

Cris was the first to pull away, inhaling the intoxicating scent that was Joana and resting her forehead on the older girl’s.

_“Can I say something that might ruin us?”_ Cris asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The plan that she had come up with earlier was starting to unravel in her head and she just really needed to tell Joana how she felt before she lost all confidence.

The brunette didn’t respond which Cris took as a cue to keep speaking. _“I hope there’s a universe out there where we end up together, no fake dating, no boy drama, just you and me falling in love. I hope that Cris realises how lucky she is to have such an amazing girlfriend and I hope that Joana realises that she is more than capable of being loved. I wish it was this universe so much it hurts sometimes but if we never get our chance now, I hope some other Cris and Joana get theirs.”_ Cris said, taking a shaky breath when she was done.

_“Mirame”_ She heard Joana say and so Cris slowly opened her eyes, looking directly into Joana's which were filled with such adoration that it sparked a hope in Cris. _“I wish it was this universe too Cris, I really do.”_

_“But”_ Cris finished, closing her eyes again in hopes of stopping the tears threatening to spill.

_“But it’s not, because in that universe Joana doesn’t get to sit here under the stars with the girl she thinks she might be head over heels for sitting in her lap, confessing her feelings for said beautiful girl. That Joana doesn’t get to admire that girl as she watches the sunset. That Joana doesn’t get to have this moment and that’s why I’m glad this universe isn’t that universe because this one is ours and our story gets to be so much better than that story simply because it's ours."_ Joana confessed and Cris couldn't hold back the tears anymore, the flowed silently down her cheeks and she felt Joana’s thumbs immediately brush them away.

_“Fuck! When did you get so smooth?”_ Cris asked with a shaky laugh as she pulled back to admire the girl in front of her. _"And I also think that I might be head over heels for you to Bianchi"._

_“Does that mean that you’ll stop being my fake girlfriend and try being my real girlfriend?”_ Joana asked sheepishly.

“I mean I guess I could tryyyyyy” Cris teased, drawing out the last word before Joana shut her up with a searing kiss that left Cris dizzy.

Cris made herself more comfortable in Joana’s lap as they placed both blankets over both of them and turned their heads upwards to watch the stars, occasionally sharing soft kisses and making up constellations in an attempt to make the other laugh.

It was just after 10 when they reluctantly decided to pack away, Joana walking Cris back to her door before kissing her goodnight and heading home. It was only after the door had shut that Cris realised she was still wearing Joana’s jacket which the older girl had placed over Cris’ shoulders when she was getting cold.

Cris breathed deeply into the collar and felt a warm fuzzy feeling take over her stomach as she smiled giddily, she was wearing her real girlfriend’s jacket and that real girlfriend was Joana who she was definitely falling head over heels for.

As Cris crawled into bed, she made a mental note to thank both Amira and Dani but as she shut her eyes only one girl filled her thoughts and Cris fell asleep with a huge grin on her face, feeling more content than she could remember ever feeling.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, the last chapter! It's longer than the others so took a little longer to get done but I hope you like it and it's a satisfying ending after that cliffehanger.
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the love and support, as always feel free to check out my other stuff and my Tumblr if you want to drop a prompt.
> 
> random-contemplations is my Tumblr


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